If it weren't for the odd spelling and capitalization, that would be an odd statement indeed.  For some it may still be an odd statement, so to clear up any confusion I am of course referring to the Nintendo Wii.  Of course after having experienced it for myself, I had to post something about it.  It's been quite a while since my last post anyways.

Upon seeing the display my heart did not skip a beat as I had anticipated.  In fact I'd seen the unit several days earlier while on a reconnaissance outing to the local Target.  Perhaps I've done my homework a little too thoughroughly this time, but the size and appearance of the system did not take me by surprise.  It was really just a confirmation of what I've already known.  In the past there had always been something about the system that surprised me.  This was not the case.  So this afternoon, I took the controller in my hand for the first time.  I had in fact thought the controller to be a bit smaller than it really was.  Perhaps I was setting myself up for disappointment, but Nintendo was not going to have any of that.  The controller was ample and comfortable in the hand.  The ergonomics leave little to be desired but the focus was definitely on form and not so much function with regards to the physical shape of the "Wiimote". 

After plopping down my license to assuage the fears of the nervous Gamestop clerk, I took the controller and powered the unit on.  Since the system was already booted an merely in a standby mode, the screen came to life with in a second and quite lacking in the fanfare department.  This is not neccesarily a bad thing as you get sick of booting systems after roughly the third time give or take perhaps once.  So it was a pleasant surprise to see that there will be no waiting involved for the Wii boot sequence.  Taking note of this, I have resolved to acquire all munchies and beverages before sitting down to play as opposed to getting those items while waiting for my system to grind to life.

The movement of the pointer was translated nice and smoothly to the screen.  For those requiring even less jittering (people annoyed easily and those afflicted with Parkinson's) there's a nifty sensitivity setting that makes the pointer usable for most anyone.  Foregoing the option to play the only available title immediately (Excite Truck) I decided to play around with all of the various options and build my own personal "Mii", a virtual avatar that can be inserted into Mii compliant software.  The menus and options are slick and simple but quite functional.  It seems to allow control over most any option you would want, but without adding menus in menus for the sake of menus.

So I played the game a little.  Honestly, the lack of "next gen" visuals is a bit disappointing.  Don't get me wrong.  it's not earth shattering and it has no effect on my ultimate decision to purchase or not purchase the system, but we've been conditioned to expect a quantum leap in graphics with the release of every system and it's noticeable when a system doesn't deliver that graphic orgasm in spades.  I chalk this up as an oversight in Nintendos corner because while it was definitely planned this way, I don't think that they thought this through entirely.  Four years from now, PS3 and 360 games will look dated.  Wii games will look downright archaic.  Again, this doesn't mean the system is throw away status or even flawed.  It just means that potential customers are going to have to face a very real truth.  You can have innovation or graphics.  But you can't have both.  Excite Truck was fun.  It did not deliver full body shakes or make my jaw drop.  The experience was however very engrossing.  Could I play hours of it?  Not that particular title.  But the control is very immersive and quite responsive after the initial five minute or so acclimation period.

All said and done, the system seems solid and will likely be a very good value at $250.  Of course the games must come though.  Nintendo delivers quality but without 3rd parties, they lack in quantity.  That has historically been the Big N's achilles heel since the days of the N64.  They seem to think they've got it licked, but I'll believe it when I see it.  I like the system.  I even love it.  But I'm a Nintendo whore.  Others are not.  Nintendos made some very good moves over the past several months.  They've made some bad ones as well.  The clock is ticking and there are only several days left for the "race" to start.  Time will tell if this system has the legs for it.